Dahan-dahan Lang

I watched Sharon Cuneta’s latest Star Cinema film CAREGIVER yesterday, hoping to witness an inspirational flick about the struggles of an OFW - a caregiver - in London. The film was directed by Chito Roño, who has proven once again that a Pinoy film can deliver something useful to the viewing public.

Caregiver is riveting in the sense that it captures the realities of the plight OFWs encounter when working overseas. The loneliness of being away from their loved ones, the struggles of racial discrimination, and also the hardships they face as they battle it out to get a decent treatment in their workplace especially in terms of their actual skills and knowledge.

Caregiver is also about finding oneself, and one’s real happiness. Sharon’s character (Sarah) eventually realized that she was trying to fulfill the family’s goals alone, despite the presence of her husband. That she has always been taking care of everything, even the needs of strangers, but has failed to get the same amount of caring from the very person she thought would give it to her. It was at the end, when things became clear to her that she needs to pursue what she really wants to do, even if it means losing the partnership that she has been selflessly preserving all these years.

Well, things don’t really end the way we want them to. I know everyone would have expected an absolute happy ending, but the fact that Sarah has fulfilled her promise to her son is enough to make everything bearable at the end. The movie is courageous enough to crush family ties and/or marriage in order to drive home its point. And for that, I think Roño made a a very daring move.

As far as acting is concerned, everyone was superb. Even Makisig Morales appeared believable. John Manalo has always been a better child actor. Rica Peralejo and Jong Hilario also gave above average performance for their supporting roles. John Estrada was convincingly annoying. And of course, it was Sharon, who once again did an outstanding job with her role. Just what we would expect from the Megastar.

Caregiver is a great movie for the whole family. The fact that it received an A from the Cinema Evaluation Board, speaks so much about its outstanding quality.

Related posts:

1. Movie Review - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2. Movie Review: Silip
3. Mag-ingat Ka Sa Kulam - Movie Review
4. Sha­ron Cuneta to do a movie with GMA Films
5. KC Concepcion to start shooting her first film in June